Them vs Me
by linklover77
Summary: When the town welcomed the outsiders, they never could have predicted the consequences of their actions. The town is now abandoned, and the visitors still remain. Only one stubborn cowgirl refuses to leave, even if it means capture.


Author's Note: I just had this completely RANDOM idea, and I had to write it down and get it out of my head! I hope it's entertaining! It's told from Jessie's POV. I'm considering doing it from other POVs, but I don't know if I should. Please review. It would make me very happy. :)

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Running. I can't stop. Not now. I'll I can do is run. Run. Everythings a blur. Why aren't I there yet? He's coming after me. I've got to run faster, but I don't think I can. My legs! They're burning! Is that even possible? I can't feel them. Are they still there? It doesn't matter now. I've got to keep going. He won't stop. I can't let him get me. That's all that matters right now. I'm almost there. I can make it. Almost there. Legs, don't give up on me now. I'm almost there. Almost. Almost. Keep going. Just a little farther. Just get inside.

I'm in. Take a deep breath girl. You should be safe here. Strange. Why does this place look so different? It hasn't been that long, has it? Gosh, time goes by so quickly. I remember when it was one of the liveliest places in town. This saloon's been abandoned now, but so has the rest of the town. It's a shame to see this building just sit here and rot.

It's because of them. It's all their fault. Now the whole town is a ghost town. Everyone left but me. I'll just never learn, will I? I should have left with them, but I thought things would turn out differently. I didn't think this would happen. How could I have known? I hate them. That's the only thing I know right now. They took Woody away. He didn't do anything wrong, but they still took him away.

I can't help feeling there's something that I'm staying for though. There's something holding me here. I feel like I can't leave just yet. Oh, pull yourself together! It's too late now Jess! He's gone! He's one of them! What happened in the past…none of it matters now. What feelings might have been there, they're gone forever.

What was that? There's someone else here. I can hear them above. It must be him. How did he get in? Oh, duh. He's got gadgets and gizmos that can pretty much do anything. I forgot about that. I've forgotten a lot of things. What's wrong with me? I'm not myself anymore. I used to be so alert, but now I feel like I'm losing it. What have they done to me? I don't know. That doesn't matter right now because here he comes.

Should I stay? Will he hurt me? He's so different now. They changed him. They changed everything. I hate them for it. They took him away. Most importantly, they took him away from me. I will never forgive them. Never.

Well, I took too long. My chance of escaping has passed. He's coming down the stairs. I can hear him: his light steps on the wooden stairs, his shallow breathing, and his muttering into his communicator. Typical. He always needs to let them know what's going on. He's so quite. He must be straining his ears to try and hear me. He thinks I'm going to try and escape. Good guess mister. I need to stall him though. I need only a moment for him to stop, and then maybe I can make a quick getaway.

There he is. He hasn't seen me yet? For a space man, he's not very alert. He's checking the other rooms, but he still hasn't looked my way. I'm standing out in the open for Stinky Pete's sake! It's not very hard to see me if you just look! They must have meddled with his vision as well. They meddled with everything.

Humph. He still has the same space suit on even though he's been promoted. Maybe he couldn't handle the guilt of turning Woody in. Maybe the new spacesuit would've reminded him of that. Coward. Nevermind that though. Look at his stance! Why, I wouldn't have been able to recognize him if I hadn't known it was him! He acts just like one of them! How much have they messed with his brain? Ugh!

Oh! He's spotted me. About time…but he's stopped. Why? Why doesn't he just attack me like all of the rest? Why doesn't he just pounce and arrest me like all of the others? Can he see the hurt in my eyes? Calm down and get a hold of yourself. He can't see anything anymore, remember?

He's opening his mouth. Wanna say something space boy? It's too late to say anything to me. You chose your way, and I chose mine. Whatever you have to say won't matter. It can't change anything between us. You're one of them. I hate them, so I must hate you. I must.

"I, in behalf of Star Command, hereby arrest you, Jessica Jane, for public disobedience and open rebellion to the laws set in place."

How cute. He's trying to sound all official. He's trying to sound like he doesn't know me. Let's see how far he'll go. This should be entertaining. I've got time to hear him out. It's not like I can leave right now anyway if he gets boring.

"You have been running from the law far too long. I have been specifically sent to capture you. I do not wish to use force to do so, but I must if you refuse to come quietly."

You can't do anything to make me come with you. To think that you'd believe that for even one second is funny. Are you mocking me? You should know me better than that. Tsk tsk.

"What do you have to say for yourself?"

Like you care what I have to say. Fine. I'll give you a piece of my mind.

"I'm not coming with you. Use force if you must, but I'm not going to make this easy for you. Things were better before you guys got here. You've ruined everything."

"We are here to serve and protect ma'am."

"Right. Can you give up the act Buzz?"

I shouldn't have said his name. He looks as though I just slapped him in the face. I really wish I could've. I think it'll be harder to stall him now. He's in ranger mode. He won't play nice. He won't play fair. He never did.

"Miss, I will use force. Don't make me."

Is that a threat? Ha if he thinks for one second that I'll get down on my knees and start pleading with him to save my life, he's got another thing coming. I'm almost tempted to though. I'm sure he wouldn't find it funny. He can't laugh anymore. He can't smile either. No emotions. Some life.

"I will give you to the count of five, miss, to come quickly and quietly. One."

Wow. How old are we? I'm not a kid Buzz, and you're not a dad. This is beyond embarrassing, and I'm finding this act extremely insulting. He's treating me as if I was a child. Pathetic.

"Two."

Maybe I should do something now. Nah. Let's let him count. He could use the practice.

"Three."

C'mon hurry it up. You are such a slow counter.

"Four."

Yup. You got it. That's the number that comes next.

"Five."

Now what ranger? What are you going to do? Show me. Man up for once and do something.

"Miss I have no choice but to…"

I can't handle this anymore.

"Oh give it up already! I can't believe you! You know me Buzz! Give up the charades! They're not fooling anyone!"

I shouldn't have said that. It looks like he's going to explode. I hope he does.

"What are you talking about?"

"Why must you be so difficult! Look at me! Do it!"

Why did I just say that? What will that do? Well, he's looking at me now. His icy blue eyes are unwavering. There is no way I can break past this barrier he's put up. How am I supposed to reach the real him?

Wait. No. I did not just see that. Oh, but I did. There he was. For only a second though. But still. He was there. What does this mean? Is there still hope for him? Is there still hope for…us? No. That's all in the past. Focus now. This is what you wanted. He stalled. That's all you need. Keep it up.

"Jessie…"

"What?"

You're going to have to do a whole lot better space ranger. You can't just say my name with those puppy dog eyes and expect me to instantly forgive you. That can't work anymore.

"It's difficult now."

He's picking his words slowly. He must not want to give too much away. What is there to give away though? They came here and ruined our town. End of story. I'm not listening to this garbage anymore.

"I'm a space ranger."

Duh.

"I have responsibilities and duties that I must keep. I am a part of Star Command, and I have to bring you in. As much as I don't want to, I simply must. I cannot disobey."

Wait, what? You don't want to? If you didn't want to, why did you come here? Stop lying to me you idiot! I can see right through you. You're power hungry. That's what it is. You turned on all of your friends to try and gain power. Was your promotion not great enough for you? You know, there's more to life than power. There was me…

"Come quietly, and I promise no harm will come upon you."

"How can I trust you? You hurt me once. You could easily do it again."

Ugh don't give me those eyes! Try as hard as I might, they still pierce right through me, and I feel so vulnerable, so exposed. Can he tell? Probably. He's not as dead as I thought he would be. They haven't sucked all of his life away…yet.

"I won't hurt you. I never meant to hurt you before. Things just got…complicated."

"Oh, so that's your great excuse? Things got complicated? Right. Thanks for the info."

"You know what I mean."

"No, I honestly don't. Please share with me the wisdom you possess because I'm obviously too stupid to understand."

This should be good. Let's see what else he comes up with. He's always full of excuses. Plus, he could use the practice. That seems to be the only way people get anywhere in life: lies, and a whole bunch of 'em.

"Star Command believes in serving and protecting the galaxy. They have ways of doing that, and though at times I disagree, I must enforce these ways. Being the space ranger that I am, I have to fulfill my duties to Star Command. When I took this position, I understood that Star Command was to come first in my life. It came before family and…loved ones. I could never see the possibility of Star Command making me punish those that I cared about. Laws are laws, and I must be ready to enforce them and punish those who don't follow them. You can't possibly comprehend the heart wrenching pain I feel as I am forced to choose Star Command over my family.

"I simply can't disobey them. If I go against my orders, the penalty is death. I know information that is top secret, and for me to disobey would show signs of disloyalty towards Star Command. How would they be able to trust me with the information I hold if I were to go against orders? I would have to be put to death. That would be the only way to ensure those secrets would never get out.

"I hate myself for doing this. You can't even begin to fathom the amount of hatred I now have for myself. I…I can't believe all of the terrible things I've done. My dreams consist of the horrors of the things I've been forced to execute, and I can't sleep peaceably anymore. My clear conscious is stained. Instead of being pure white, it's now the blackest of blacks. I'm worse than the devil himself.

"Jessie…I'm sorry."

It's too late to apologize. The damage has been done.

"I want to make this right, but there simply isn't any way to go about that. I've ruined everything. I've even contemplated suicide before. I knew you'd be pleased to never have to see me again. I knew it'd be easier for you. You'd be able to heal faster and move on with your life. I try to think of what I can do to make everything easier for you. You think that I've forgotten you. You think that I've completely pushed you out of my life. Every minute of every day I am planning for you. I've let you run for weeks. I've been trying to postpone capturing you. I've heard what they're going to do to you. I can't let that happen. You ran inside of here though, and I had to come in. Star Command's becoming suspicious. They think I'm not trying hard enough, and they were ready to replace me. No matter what you think of me, you must recognize the fact that it would be worse if someone else were to capture you."

Wow. I can't process that much right now. Give me a sec…ok…I think I got all that.

I didn't think he could show emotions anymore. There he is. The man I fell in love with is right here in front of me. Why does he feel so far away then? It's like there's an invisible barrier between us. Neither of us can cross it. I want to move closer to him. I want to touch him. This can't be real. I just need to hold him. That'll prove that I'm not dreaming, or that I'm not crazy.

I can see his pain, but it's worse for me. Not only can I feel mine, but I can feel his. Maybe he's got it just as bad as me. Well, he deserves it. I wish I could help him though. It'd help lessen the pain I feel. We're too connected now. My pain is his, and his pain is mine.

"Buzz…"

Where to begin? I just need to tell him up front. I need to tell him it's too late. I need to tell him how much I hate him. I need to tell him he's the worst thing that ever happened to me. I need to tell him to stop contemplating suicide and just actually do it. I can't take this anymore. I feel like I'm about to burst. Why does the world hate me? Why was I ever born? This is too much pain. I can't take it. It's crushing me. I can't breathe anymore. I'd better sit down.

This isn't that much better, but at least I won't fall over. He's coming over to me. Stay away. I hate you. Don't. Touch. Me. Take one more step, and I'll punch that pretty little face of yours. It'd probably hurt me more than it would him, but still. I think he got the message. I can only imagine the look on my face right now. Where's a camera when you need one? Oh well.

Ugh…he's sitting next to me now. I can't look at him. I won't look at him. He's not going to win. I won't give him what he wants. I can't do this. He's making it worse. I shouldn't have said anything. It would have been better to have left quietly. It would have been easier. I'd trade physical pain any day over emotional pain. I can handle that kind of pain.

He's taken my hand in his. What is this? Let go! Whatever…I can't even feel my body anymore. I can't even move. I'm at his disposal now. Take me Lightyear. I'm yours. Heh that's ironic. Isn't that my life though? Whatever.

He's stroking my hand now. I can feel the electricity flowing from his fingers to my hand. This is the last thing I want to feel now though. This makes everything that much worse. It makes it harder to tell him I hate him. It makes everything harder because I know I've been lying to myself. So much for always being brutally honest. I'm as much as a liar as he is. Well…too late. Now I know that I love him, and nothing will ever change that. I'm hopeless.

There had never been a love like ours. We were once so open, but now we've become so distant. It can't go back to the way it was. That's not possible. My heart has been broken before, but now it's been ripped out of my chest and thrown on the ground. I don't have it anymore. It's plastered to the bottom of his space boot after he crushed it.

"Jessie, look at me."

I think you'll have to help me out there. I can't move. I'm seriously paralyzed. Please, help me. Oh, I didn't expect you to actually do what I wanted. That's a first. It's a bit uncomfortable looking at you when you have my face in between your hands. Trust me.

"You need to leave. Now."

What are you talking about? Are you going to let me go? Just like that? No strings attached? Really? Ha! I didn't think you had it in you to take me to your precious Star Command. Wait though, could they be…? No! No! This cannot be happening! This day just keeps getting worse and worse and worse! Please no! Please don't let that be true! What have I done to anyone? Why can't I just be happy for once in my life? Why does misery seem to cling to me? I can't shake it off no matter how hard I try!

I think my voice is starting to come back. I can flex my jaw, but that doesn't mean I can speak. There's only one way to find out.

"Why?"

Wow. I only say one stinkin' little word, and my voice has to crack.

"They're coming."

Knew it. I so predicted that. They are beyond predictable. Stupid spacemen.

"What about you?"

I won't be getting used to this voice anytime soon. Oh well. There are a lot of things I haven't gotten used to.

"I'll be fine, but you need to get out of here. Before I came, they attached a tracking device to my spacesuit. They've seen I've been here for too long, and they think I'm in trouble. They're going to come 'save' me. If they find you here…"

I'll nod. That's about all I can do anyway. I can't get up. I can't feel myself. I can't feel anything. Am I still sitting? I can't tell anymore. I don't know where I am. Everything's becoming blurry. I think I'll lay down. I can't do anything.

"Jessie! Jessie!"

What? I need to lay down! Stop yelling at me! I think I deserve a break! I've been through so much today! Just let me be!

Woah I'm flying! What is going on? I was laying down two seconds ago! How did I end up in Buzz's arms? They're so strong, so secure. I really wish he'd never have to put me down. I'm coming back to my senses now. I almost lost it for a second. I need to get out of here; I understand that much. I've got to go Buzz! What are you doing? Put me down!

"I love you."

You were always known for your impeccable timing.

"I'll never forget you. I'm sorry for everything that I've done. I only care for your safety. Run as far away from this place as you possibly can. I'll lead them somewhere else. That should give you enough time to get out of here. Leave town. They won't come looking for you if you escape and make it past the town's boundaries. I'm sorry this has to end this way. I'm sorry…I'm sorry…"

"Buzz…"

That's all I can get out. He brings me so tightly to his chest, I feel like I'm about to pass out again. What am I doing on the ground? Well, he's running back inside. Man that boy moves fast. He'll come up with something good. I trust him. He'll distract them. Now it's time for me to go.

Running. Again. Still running from them, but there's something different about the way I'm running. I can't quite put my finger on it. There are so many thoughts in my head right now I can't even set them straight. I have a ways to go, so why not try to sort through them now? He loves me. He always loved me. He always will love me. Why is that so comforting? Is that what I was looking for? Closure? I guess so. I feel better knowing that he was always there even when I thought I'd lost him. I'm so messed up. What will happen to him now though? I'm sure he'll be ok. He's Mr. Bigshot. He'll get out of it. He'll be ok. He'll be ok.

I've got to keep going. I don't want him to have done this for me for nothing. There will be no point in any of this if I get caught. I can see the town's borderline. I'm almost there! I feel like I've ran a marathon today! It's terrible. I hate running. Mental note: never enter a marathon. Ever.

Almost there. Just a bit further then you can look back. Keep going. He's fine. Stop worrying about him. Just keep going. You've got it. It's right there. You can see it. Ok just cross it and take a quick peek behind you. You can't look for long because you're still not safe. You have to keep running after this.

There they are. If Buzz hadn't told me to leave when he had, I don't know if I would've gotten out of there. Well, I can see their huge space ship. They're coming out of the building. Oh Jess you've got to get running!

Wait! I can see Buzz! He's walking back with them. He's ok. Breathe. It looks like they're buying his story. He's getting on the ship with them. Ok, now it's time to go.

It's getting dark now. I'm tired of running. How much farther until I'm safe? I'll just zone out for a bit. My legs have a mind of their own now. I don't need to tell them what to do. They know.

How long was I out? It's really dark now. I forgot how much I hated the dark. Perfect. I have no idea what time it is though. I can see the forest up ahead. That'll be a perfect place to rest. My legs feel as if they're about to collapse beneath me. Well at least now I'm under these trees. This'll help protect me.

Ah the grass never looked so pleasant until now! I'm just going to collapse on the ground. I don't care anymore. This feels so good. My legs hurt so bad. I'm just going to lay here and think of him. It's not like I never did that before. This time, it'll be different though. I'll think of what he's done for me. What was the last thing I had said to him? His name?

Wow…I'm pathetic. I know he could read me like a book. I'd be terrible at poker. I can't lie with my face for nothin'. He must have been able to see how I felt for him. My expressions must have screamed the love I have for him. He surely must know by now that I love him and always will. That's enough for me. I'll just close my eyes. I could sure use the rest.


End file.
